Rival tech giants DoorDash and Uber are suing New York City over laws requiring their apps to offer customers the chance to tip delivery workers at checkout \u2014 not after an order is placed \u2014 and set the default option to at least 10% of an order\u2019s cost.<\/p>\n
The companies argue the laws<\/a>, which take effect on Jan. 26<\/a> after passing last summer<\/a>, violate their constitutional rights to free speech by compelling them to \u201cspeak a government-mandated message in a prescribed manner and at a prescribed time.\u201d They\u2019re asking the Southern District of New York to block the laws and award monetary damages for what the federal lawsuit<\/a> also says is a violation of their property rights \u201cwithout just compensation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPlaintiffs are conscripted to amplify the City\u2019s message despite the fact that food deliveries in New York City recently became more expensive due to the City\u2019s guaranteed minimum-earnings requirements for delivery workers,\u201d the suit states.<\/p>\n DoorDash and Uber also cite \u201ctipping fatigue\u201d and \u201cgenerally rising prices\u201d in their filing, arguing their bottom lines will be hurt because customers will use the delivery platforms less if prompted to tip more than they would be otherwise.<\/p>\n \u201cPractices like suggested tip amounts and suggested pre-service tipping can convey the hotly debated message that tipping should not just be a recognition of good service but an expectation regardless of service quality,\u201d the suit says. DoorDash went further in a release<\/a> Thursday, saying city lawmakers have \u201cturned tipping into essentially an added tax\u201d amid \u201can affordability crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n The lawsuit is the latest salvo by Big Tech companies<\/a> to stymie regulations on their business operations and how much they pay delivery workers, who have organized in recent years for better wages and working conditions<\/a>. It comes in the final weeks of Mayor Eric Adams\u2019 administration and as Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who ran on a pro-labor platform<\/a>, prepares to take office.<\/p>\n Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Friday. A spokesperson for the city\u2019s Law Department, which defends the city against litigation, said the agency would review the lawsuit once it\u2019s been served.<\/p>\n